Members of the working force today are extremely busy people. They have little time to prepare either lunch or dinner. Often, they move between the office and leisure-time activities, and vice-versa, without having time to stop at home. Such busy people are bound to use vending machines or to eat in restaurants for sustenance. The quality of food in the former is often lacking and the time and expense inherent in restaurant dining often render the latter undesirable. Moreover, certain people prefer foods and drinks tailored to their life-style which are sometimes unavailable from vending machines and restaurants.
Accordingly, many people find it desirable, necessary, or both to carry their own lunch or dinner with them. This improves ease and convenience, saves time and money, and assures a wider variety of foods and beverages tailored to an individual's preference. Typically, paper sacks, plastic bags, or lunch boxes are used to carry the lunch or dinner. Such receptacles are often cumbersome to carry and offer little protection against spoilage. Moreover, absent an available refrigerator and microwave or conventional oven, food and beverages, whether tastier hot or cold, both must be consumed in the lukewarm state at room temperature.
In addition, many people feel that carrying a meal to work in the typical receptacles is embarrassing. Some believe it hurts their corporate, professional, or fashionable image. They desire, therefore, a carriage which has an attractive exterior appearance offering the prestige of a briefcase.
When not working, people engage in a wide variety of leisure activities for which cool beverages are a desirable complement. A number of coolers are available to transport and cool beverages. The busy worker may not have time, however, to stop at home to pick up a conventional cooler. That worker also may be unable to carry both a lunch carriage and a cooler to work. Therefore, a versatile container which can function both as a meal carriage and as a six-pack mini-cooler is needed. If that container could function as a briefcase when not in use as a meal carriage or as a six-pack mini-cooler, an additional advantage would be attained.
Others have suggested carrying food in briefcases with specially and permanently constructed interior structures. Such specially constructed cases preclude the option of using the case solely as a briefcase or as a mini-cooler. The permanent nature of the interior structures also makes washing and cleaning difficult and possibly harmful to the case. Still others have suggested designs which do not provide insulation. Such designs fail to retain food and drink at widely divergent temperatures such as would be appropriate for hot food and cold drink. Shook et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,106,597, disclose an executive food carrying case. A single, removable insert is suggested for converting a conventional briefcase into a food carrying case; the case is always available for carrying papers and is additionally available when desired on a temporary basis to carry food. Food is transported in the insert, which may be cut or trimmed to fit the briefcase.
The insert is a single block of thermally insulating foam, smaller than the interior of the briefcase, with a plurality of cavities formed in one of its major surfaces to receive food. The foam block may be cooled in a refrigerator or heated in a microwavebut, of course, not simultaneously. Thus, items in cold containers would match, for example, a cooled insert well while heated containers would not. Removal of the single block is also problematic; notches and finger holes must be provided to facilitate removal. Moreover, the entire insert must be removed and cleaned even though only a single cavity may be dirty.
A covering lid is pivotally mounted to the block over the major surface having the cavities for at times protectively covering and retaining the food items in those cavities. The food is compressibly retained at such times by foam attached to the underside of the lid. The top of the lid is sufficiently smooth and flat to form a writing work surface. A pressure sensitive latch can hold the lid closed or fasten the lid to the opened part of the briefcase to hold the lid open during use.
Because the case is a combination briefcase and food carrying case, the insert is sized to allow a space above the insert and within the hinged top of the briefcase to store and transport business documents. Accordingly, less than the entire interior of the case is available to carry food and beverages. Moreover, no provision is made to convert the case into a cooler.
To overcome the shortcomings of existing briefcases, food and beverage carriages, and six-pack coolers, a new, convertible, briefcase, food and beverage carriage, and mini-cooler is provided. An object of the present invention is to provide all of the advantages of transporting a meal, including savings in time and money, a broader selection of food and beverage items, and the opportunity to follow a preferred diet, such as a religious, health, or weight-loss diet. Another object is to appeal to the prestige or status minded person by concealing the fact that the container carries a meal. A related object is to provide an aesthetically designed container which resembles a briefcase.
Still another object is to provide a container which can effectively and efficiently transport food and drink while safely preserving it so that it can be consumed at an appropriate temperature at any convenient time. A related object is to effectively protect food and drink from undesirable temperature fluctuations and from physical damage.
An additional object is to provide a container which can function as a conventional briefcase to carry documents, computer disks, and other paraphernalia; can convert entirely into a food and beverage carriage; and can convert yet again completely into a mini-cooler.